The second of June 1990 will forever be a date etched on the memories of all of Skye's shinty cognoscenti as the day the islanders famously triumphed over Newtonmore at Fort William to lift the Camanachd Cup for the first time.

For Ross and Willie Cowie, two of the leading architects of that momentous day at An Aird, it remains their greatest achievement in the game, but after more than 25 years at the forefront of Skye sport the brothers have much more to reflect on than that famous day.

As with so many of shinty's leading figures, the Cowies come from a long and distinguished sporting pedigree. Their father Willie played for Lovat's grand slam winning team of 1953 and his brother was a professional footballer with Aberdeen FC. Their uncles, Donnie and Billy MacKinnon, have also played a prominent part in Skye Camanachd's history while their great-great grandfather, William Ross, captained the Skye team which lifted the MacTavish cup in 1898.

Yet despite their family connections with the game, Ross Cowie recalls his early childhood as a lean time for shinty in Skye, "Shinty at that point was a foreign sport," he recalls. "There was very little shinty played in Skye and there was a gap period with senior shinty only returning to Skye in 1969."

Willie remembers something of a revival in the 1970s and his first match when he was in Primary Four was against Cruachanside, an Argyllshire team that had won the Mackay Cup - shinty's leading trophy at primary level - the previous year. "My first recollection is of being in awe at seeing this guy for the Cruachanside team taking the ball in the air and hitting it about three-quarters of the length of the park," he said.

Being in awe of opponents was a habit this eager youngster would soon grow out of and, with the help and coaching of key figures such as Donnie MacKinnon and DR Macdonald, Portree Primary were soon making their own challenge for the Mackay Cup. "We were lucky enough to win the Mackay Cup in 1974 and that was a fantastic memory," Willie said. "Kingussie and Newtonmore had a combined team and we beat them 2-1 in the semi-final and then beat a Lochaber team in the final at Plockton."

Indeed, the photograph of that winning line-up shows several boys who would go on to play a crucial role in future Skye triumphs.

Throughout the young Cowies' teenage years, and like so many other Skye shinty players, they attribute much of their progress to the coaching of DR Macdonald. "Through the school he had a huge influence," Ross said. "Outwith the school you can only do so much but if you're willing to develop and progress you need somebody within the school, and DR was the guy who picked up the mantle of shinty."

Willie's development was swift and after a couple of seasons playing alongside influential players such as Iain Macdougall, Willie "Duchan" MacPherson and Peter MacKinnon in the Skye second team, he and George Michie broke into the senior side while they were still in their mid-teens.

A broken leg hampered Ross's career in the mid-1970s but both brothers went on to play an integral part in the Skye team that defeated Kyles 3-2 in the final of the Sutherland Cup at Fort William in 1979. It's a day that Ross Cowie describes as a "major stepping stone for Skye shinty", and was the first honour a Skye team had won since the Portree side won the same trophy in 1950.

However, the pair's memories of that team of 1979 are clouded by the fact that three of the squad - George Michie, Jock Macfarlane and Peter Murchison - are no longer with us, a sad reflection of the tragedies which have afflicted the Skye club over the years.

"Probably the major loss in Skye sport was George Michie, at such an early age," Ross said. "At 20 it was such a tragedy, but the impact he had in the few years he was here was huge. You can never be certain, but I think if George had been around then Skye might well have won the Camanachd Cup more than once."

Willie then went on to add another Sutherland medal in 1981 when Skye defeated Glasgow University 3-1 in Oban.

But by 1985 Ross had settled for a career in the second team and was carving out a new role as player-manager. "I'd been running the Portree United football team prior to that so I thought I'd have a crack at the shinty," he said.

He went on to exceed all expectations that season. "The Camanachd Cup was a pinnacle but 1985 was probably the most satisfying season for me personally because I think I had found my level," he said. "We went through that whole season with no expectations from ourselves or anyone else and won the Sutherland Cup 2-1 against Strachur at Inveraray."

The brothers were again reunited in the 1988 Sutherland Cup victory, achieved by the easier margin of 7-2 against the same opponents at Strathpeffer - with Ross this time captaining the team. "I wanted a silver mounted caman," he says wryly.

DESPITE the junior successes of the late 1980s, Willie remembers a time of growing disharmony and apathy in the Skye senior ranks - a period that culminated in the now-infamous 17-0 defeat by Kingussie in the 1988-89 season.

"There were a lot of first-team guys not there at the time," he said. "Myself, Willie MacRae and Willie MacKinnon were in Glasgow that weekend and I remember hearing the score on the car radio and we all looked at each other and started smiling. We thought we had heard it wrong and there was no way that we could have lost by that much. But when we found out it was true it was a bit of a shocker to everybody."

Ross agreed with the initial disbelief but added: "In retrospect this might have been the catalyst that gave them the jolt." In light of what followed it obviously did. "When you lose by 17 then its time to ask where we are going from here. I don't think there was anyone particularly at fault for that result but things were clearly drifting."

The response was a big shake-up, with Ross stepping up to take charge of the first team. "A 17-0 scoreline is a bit of an embarrassment so you either chuck it or do something about it." he said. "I certainly wasn't able to do something on the park but I had to find a niche for myself somewhere so I enquired about taking charge of the team."

It was a move that was to bring about an unforgettable reward, yet he remains modest about his own contribution. "The foundation blocks were there already," he said. "If you go back to that team that won the MacKay Cup in 1974 you'll find the spine of the team that won the Camanachd Cup - Duncan Macdougall, Willie MacRae, Caley Maclean, William Cowie. The talent was there - it was just a case of knitting it together to produce results."

Ross Cowie - aided by the coaching skills of Gerry Ackroyd, a man whom he feels has never been given enough credit for the turnaround in fortunes - then set about making a plan to bring success to the senior team. He admits that he never believed the transformation could occur so quickly, but the players responded to his demands for everyone to train and progress was swift. "Training had always been a problem but I think you find that if you're winning and competing for major honours then guys will turn up for training," said Ross.

Between 1989 and 1992 Skye emerged as serious challengers to Kingussie's dominance, producing a number of memorable matches against the Badenoch giants yet ultimately missing out on league success - an achievement both brothers feel would have been greater than the Camanachd Cup win.

Yet what of that incredible season of 1989-90? Lovat and then Kingussie - in the mud in Portree - were accounted for, but it is the semi- final against Fort William in Inverness that sticks in both Ross and Willie's minds. "For me the semi-final was the game that stands out shinty-wise," Willie said. "I thought that day was as good a performance by any Skye team."

Skye were two-nil up in that game before being pegged back to two-all and then reduced to 11 men. But a penalty save from John "Bodach" MacKenzie and two extra-time goals secured Skye's place in the final for the first time. "I think there was an element of fate in it, if you were ever going to believe in it then that was the time," Ross reflects.

And so to the final itself. It was a game that, despite the 4-1 scoreline, Willie recalls as "the poorest we played in the competition". Not that anyone who was there that day cared about that when the final whistle sparked off Skye's biggest-ever mass celebration. Willie admits that the match and the immediate aftermath passed quickly amongst the excitement, yet the memory of the jubilant homecoming and a packed square in Portree remains a highlight. "I remember watching the clock at the post-match reception and thinking that we wouldn't be back in Skye before 12 o'clock and that no one would be there to see us," he said. "But then coming into Portree I was sitting beside Peter Gordon and we saw a few kids at the bridge past the school and then coming into the square was unbelievable. Poor Peter was crying. It was really emotional, absolutely incredible."

Ross too admits to being taken aback by the euphoria and added: "You go through a season and you know your own aims and goals but you don't realise the impact it's having on other people. I think that was the moment when we realised, firstly with the crowd in Fort William and then in the square afterwards which we just didn't expect."

Despite the achievements of the early 1990s, Skye lost several players in a short period of time and were unable to build on the momentum. "It's a pity we couldn't have sustained it a bit longer than we did, but the magic ingredient doesn't seem to be there with anybody outside Badenoch at the moment," Ross said. Willie too expressed regret that Skye were unable to put up a strong defence of the cup and went down to Lovat in the early rounds of the '91 competition.

However, Willie went on to gain international recognition - he would surely have had more caps had the senior series been revived prior to 1993 - and was central to Skye's promotion to the premier league in 2000. He scored a hat-trick in the league decider against Lochcarron and another hat-trick in the Camanachd Cup semi-final against Kyles at Ballachullish. He singles out that defeat on penalties as his biggest disappointment: "I thought we were the better team on the day and had it not been for some poor finishing and some fantastic goalkeeping by Kenny Macdonald I think we would have won it."

His talents undoubtedly deserved to have graced the final on more than the one occasion but he remains contented with his lot. "I played in four Camanachd semi-finals but I can't complain because I've been to one final and was fortunate enough to win it which is more than many other players get," he said.

Ross shares his magnanimity. "There are always disappointments but you take a lot from shinty and you like to think you do as well as you can. To put it in perspective, we were there and had the chance to do it. We've both had a lot of good times out of shinty. Guys like George didn't get that opportunity."